U.S. patent application number 10/603295 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-30 for multi-sectioned container.
Invention is credited to Smith, Steven W..
Application Number | 20040262306 10/603295 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33539702 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040262306 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Smith, Steven W. |
December 30, 2004 |
Multi-sectioned container
Abstract
A multi-sectioned container comprising a bottom section and at
least one upper section that stacks thereon. The bottom section
includes a bottom surface and a side-wall that includes, at a top
portion thereof, a connector for connecting the bottom section to
an upper section stacked thereon. The connector may be screw
threads or a snapping mechanism. The upper section is essentially a
tube that is configured in a bottom portion thereof to connect to
the bottom section. The upper-section is also configured at a top
portion thereof to connect, selectively, to another stacked upper
section or a lid.
Inventors: |
Smith, Steven W.; (Dallas,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Steven W. Smith
7237 Birchwood Drive
Dallas
TX
75240-3609
US
|
Family ID: |
33539702 |
Appl. No.: |
10/603295 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/4.26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0228
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/004.26 |
International
Class: |
B65D 006/28 |
Claims
1. A multi-sectioned container jar for storing consumable goods,
comprising: a bottom section having a bottom surface and at least
one side-wall, said bottom-section side-wall including at a top
portion thereof, connecting means for connecting the bottom section
to an upper section stacked thereon; at least one upper section
having at least one side-wall, said upper-section side-wall being
configured in a bottom portion thereof to interact with the
bottom-section connecting means to connect the upper section to the
bottom section, said upper-section side-wall including at a top
portion thereof, connecting means for connecting the upper section,
selectively, to another upper section or a lid, said upper section
being operable to be removed from the bottom section when the
consumable goods are consumed to a level that is below the bottom
of the upper section; and a lid configured to connect, selectively,
to the upper section or to the bottom section when the upper
section is removed.
2. The multi-sectioned container of claim 1, wherein the
bottom-section side-wall and the upper-section side-wall have a
circular configuration, and wherein the bottom-section connecting
means includes screw threads, and the upper-section side-wall is
configured in the bottom portion thereof with screw threads
compatible with the screw threads of the bottom-section connecting
means to screw the sections together.
3. The multi-sectioned container of claim 1, wherein the
bottom-section connecting means includes a snapping mechanism, and
the upper-section side-wall is configured in the bottom portion
thereof with snapping means compatible with the snapping mechanism
of the bottom-section connecting means to snap the sections
together.
4. The multi-sectioned container of claim 3, wherein the snapping
mechanism of the bottom-section connecting means and the snapping
means of the upper-section side-wall are configured to form a
water-tight seal when they are snapped together.
5. (Canceled)
6. The multi-sectioned container of claim 1, wherein the at least
one bottom-section side-wall and the at least one upper-section
side-wall each include four side-walls arranged in approximately a
square configuration.
7-8. (Canceled)
9. A multi-sectioned jar for storing food, comprising: a bottom
section; a first tubular upper section that stacks on, and
removably connects to, the bottom section; and a lid configured to
connect, selectively, to the first tubular upper section, or to the
bottom section when the first tubular upper section is remove;
wherein the bottom section includes a bottom surface and a
side-wall that includes, at a top portion thereof, a connector for
connecting the bottom section to the first tubular upper section;
and wherein the first tubular upper section is configured in a
bottom portion thereof to connect to the bottom-section connector,
and includes a connector at a top portion thereof to connect to the
lid, said first tubular upper section being operable to be removed
from the bottom section when the food stored in the container is
consumed to a level that is below the bottom of the first tubular
upper section.
10. (Canceled)
11. The multi-sectioned jar of claim 9, further comprising a second
tubular upper section identical to the first tubular upper section
for connecting to the top of the first tubular upper section when a
quantity of food is added to the jar that raises the level of the
food above the top of the first tubular upper section, wherein the
second tubular upper section is operable to be removed from the
first tubular upper section when the food stored in the container
is consumed to a level that is below the bottom of the second
tubular upper section.
12. A multi-sectioned vase for holding and displaying flowers,
comprising: a cylindrical bottom section having a bottom surface
and a circular side-wall forming a bottom chamber that is open at a
top end, said bottom section having a height sufficient to stably
hold and display short-stemmed flowers in the bottom chamber, said
bottom-section side-wall including at a top portion thereof,
connecting means for connecting the bottom section to a cylindrical
upper section stacked thereon; and a first cylindrical upper
section that is open at both a top end and a bottom end, said first
upper section having a circular side-wall configured in a bottom
portion thereof to interact with the bottom-section connecting
means to removably connect the first upper section to the bottom
section, said first upper section having a height sufficient to
stably hold and display long-stemmed flowers when the first upper
section is stacked on and connected to the bottom section.
13. The multi-sectioned vase of claim 12, further comprising a
second cylindrical upper section identical to the first cylindrical
upper section for removably connecting to the top of the first
cylindrical upper section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to containers for holding articles or
substances. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the
present invention is directed to an expandable or shrinkable
container such as a jar having a plurality of stacked sections.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] People have used containers such as jars for thousands of
years to hold various articles and substances. A continuing problem
with existing containers is encountered when use of the articles or
substance causes the level of the articles or substance in the jar
to fall to a level at which it is inconvenient or difficult to
extract more of the articles or substance. A typical example found
in most households today is a mayonnaise jar. When the level of
mayonnaise falls within the jar, it becomes difficult to reach and
extract the mayonnaise with the typical butter knife used for that
purpose. Many people resort to the use of a spatula or other
longer-handled kitchen utensil to extract mayonnaise at the bottom
of the jar, but it is still a cumbersome and inconvenient task.
[0005] In order to overcome the disadvantage of existing solutions,
it would be advantageous to have a shrinkable container that can be
reduced in height as the level of the articles or substance within
the container falls. The present invention provides such a
container.
[0006] Another continuing problem with existing containers is
encountered when a particular container is too small to hold the
articles or substance that the user desires to place into the
container. For example, a chef may desire to cook more of an item
such as soup than is needed for a particular meal. However, when
the chef attempts to pour the excess soup into a jar, it is
discovered that the jar is not quite large enough. Therefore, the
remainder of the soup must either be placed in another container or
be discarded.
[0007] A user may also have the need to store in a container, items
that have a length that is longer than the height of the container.
In this case, the user may find it impossible to put a lid on the
container, and the items must be left exposed. Additionally, a
taller container may be needed to stabilize items that are placed
in the container. For example, a florist may place short-stemmed
flowers in a short vase, but long-stemmed flowers must be placed in
a taller vase to keep them from falling over. Therefore, several
vases must be kept on hand to match the type of flowers being
used.
[0008] In order to overcome the disadvantage of existing solutions,
it would be advantageous to have an expandable container that can
be increased in height in order to hold more articles or substance
as required. Such a container could also be increased in height to
hold articles having a length that exceeds the height of the
un-expanded container. The present invention provides such a
container.
[0009] There is also a need for children's articles that teach
valuable information and skills to the children while entertaining
them as well. For example, children develop manual dexterity by
repeatedly performing tasks with various objects with their hands.
Children also learn to recognize colors by playing with objects of
different colors. Additionally, children learn higher cognitive
skills by playing with items that require them to recognize
patterns or shapes, and to place the items in proper relation to
each other to form the patterns or shapes. Children also learn to
recognize the volume relationship between a container, and a number
of items or a quantity of a substance (such as sand or water), by
repeatedly filling the container with the items or substance. It
would be advantageous to have a container that fulfills all of the
above needs for teaching children. The present invention provides
such a container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention is directed to a multi-sectioned
container comprising a bottom section and at least one upper
section that stacks thereon. The bottom section includes a bottom
surface and at least one side-wall that includes, at a top portion
thereof, connecting means for connecting the bottom section to an
upper section stacked thereon. The upper section includes at least
one side-wall that is configured in a bottom portion thereof to
interact with the bottom-section connecting means to connect the
upper section to the bottom section. In addition, the upper-section
side-wall includes at a top portion thereof, connecting means for
connecting the upper section, selectively, to another upper section
or a lid. In one embodiment, the connecting means includes screw
threads for screwing the sections together. In another embodiment,
the connecting means includes means for snapping the sections
together.
[0011] In another aspect, the multi-sectioned container includes a
plurality of sections that are each colored a different color. In
this embodiment, the container may be used to teach the colors to a
child while the child also develops manual dexterity by joining the
sections or taking the sections apart.
[0012] In yet another aspect, the multi-sectioned container may
function as a tool to teach children more advanced cognitive
skills. In this embodiment, a drawing or pattern is drawn on the
surface of the container in such a way that the drawing overlaps
more than one section. If the container is taken apart, the child
must recognize the proper order of the sections, and must put the
container back together with the sections in the proper order to
put the drawing properly back together.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The invention will be better understood and its numerous
objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled
in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction
with the accompanying specification, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
present invention in which a multi-sectioned container includes a
lid and three, sections joined together by screw threads;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the
multi-sectioned container of FIG. 1A with the lid and three
sections separated;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the multi-sectioned
container of FIG. 1 with the uppermost section removed and the lid
screwed onto the center section;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
present invention in which a multi-sectioned container includes a
lid and three sections that snap together; and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a
side-wall of the multi-sectioned container of FIG. 4 taken along
line 5-5 and showing an exemplary construction of the snapping
mechanism connecting the sections.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
present invention in which a multi-sectioned container 10 includes
a lid 11 and three sections 12-14 joined together by screw threads
15. Each section is externally threaded at the top, and each
section, except the bottom section 14 is internally threaded at the
bottom. Thus, each section other than the bottom section is
essentially a tube with alternating internal and external screw
threads at each end. The center section 13 screws onto the bottom
section 14, the top section 12 screws onto the center section 13,
and the lid 11 screws onto the top section 12. In this embodiment,
the multi-sectioned container may be constructed of any suitable
material utilized for containers. For example, for foodstuffs, the
container may be constructed of glass or plastic. For other items,
the container may be constructed, for example, from stainless steel
or other type of metal.
[0020] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the
multi-sectioned container of FIG. 1 with the lid 11 and three
sections 12-14 separated. This view illustrates that each section
is externally threaded at the top, and each section, except the
bottom section 14 is internally threaded at the bottom. The outside
diameter of the externally threaded portion 12a-14a of each section
is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the remainder of
the section. This enables the internally threaded portion 12b and
13b of the top and center sections, respectively, to be screwed
onto the externally threaded portions of the sections below while
maintaining a constant outside diameter of the resulting expanded
container 10. The lid 11 is sized to screw onto the externally
threaded portion of any of the sections.
[0021] It is noted that the top section 12 and the center section
13 are essentially identical, and are interchangeable. In addition,
additional sections may be screwed onto the top section, and
sequentially to each other, to further expand the capacity of the
multi-sectioned container 10. Each section may also be colored a
different color, either for decorative reasons, or for an
embodiment in which the container is used to educate a child. With
this embodiment, a child may learn to identify different colors,
and can practice and develop manual dexterity by building
containers of different colors and sizes.
[0022] Alternatively, a drawing or pattern may be drawn on the
surface of the container in such a way that the drawing overlaps
more than one section. If the container is taken apart, the child
must recognize the proper order of the sections, and must put the
container back together with the sections in the proper order to
put the drawing properly back together. In this way, the container
may be used to teach more advanced cognitive skills.
[0023] The container may also be utilized to teach children the
relationship between the size of a container, and the volume of a
substance (such as sand or water), or the number of items in a
group of items (such as marbles, building blocks, or small toys)
that can be placed in the container. By building smaller or larger
containers, the child learns that the number of items that can be
placed in the container decreases or increases, respectively.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the multi-sectioned
container 10 of FIG. 1 with the uppermost section 12 removed and
the lid 11 screwed onto the center section 13. As the level of any
articles or substance stored within the container falls, sections
may be removed for easier access to the remaining articles or
substance. Ultimately, the lid may be screwed directly onto the
bottom section 14.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
present invention in which a multi-sectioned container 20 includes
a lid 21 and three sections 22-24 that snap together. By simply
pressing two of the sections together until they snap into place,
the container can be expanded. Likewise, the container can be
reduced in size by simply pulling the sections apart. It should
also be understood that although a container having a square
cross-section is illustrated in FIG. 4, the container of this
embodiment may have a cross-section of other geometric shapes. For
example, the cross-section could also be circular, triangular,
rectangular, and the like.
[0026] FIG. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a
side-wall of the multi-sectioned container of FIG. 4 taken along
line 5-5 and showing an exemplary construction of the snapping
mechanism connecting the sections. The drawing is lined to show
that in this embodiment, the container is preferably constructed of
a plastic that is elastic enough to allow the sections to be joined
together or separated without requiring the application of undue
force by the user. The container could also be constructed of thin
metal, or other suitable material that will not break under the
stress of joining or separating the sections.
[0027] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the thickness of the side-wall of
each section may be reduced in the area where the two sections
overlap and snap together. A bead 25 may be formed in one of the
sections, and may snap into a corresponding groove formed in the
other section. As illustrated, the bead 25 is formed on the top
section 22, and snaps into a corresponding groove formed in the
center section 23. Of course, the bead may also be formed on the
center section 23, and may snap into a corresponding groove formed
in the top section 22. Other suitable configurations for snapping
the two sections together may also be utilized, as the illustrated
configuration is exemplary only.
[0028] The bead 25, as illustrated in FIG. 5, may not form a water
tight seal. Therefore, this embodiment may be better suited for dry
goods. However, in another embodiment, the bead 25 may also be a
rubber seal or, for circular containers, an o-ring that fits into a
groove in the top section 22. In this manner, a water-tight seal
may be formed between the joined sections so that the container may
be utilized for liquids.
[0029] It is thus believed that the operation and construction of
the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing
description. While the multi-sectioned container shown and
described has been characterized as being preferred, it will be
readily apparent that various changes and modifications could be
made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as
defined in the following claims.
* * * * *